LINK ACCESS PROCEDURES Several protocols under the general category link access procedure (LAP) have been developed, Each of these protocols is a subset of HDLC tailored for a specific purpose. LAPB, LAPD, and LAPM are the most common of these. LAPB Link access procedure, balanced (LAPB) is a simplified subset of HDLC used only for connecting a station to a network. It therefore provides only those basic control functions required for communication between a DTE and a DCE (e.g. it does not include poll and select characters). LAPB is used only in balanced configurations of two devices, where both devices are of the combined type. Communication is always in asynchronous balanced mode. LAPB is used today in Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) on B channels. LAPD Link access procedure for D channel (LAPD) is another simplified subset of HDLC used in Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). It is used for out-of-band (control) signaling. It uses asynchronous balanced mode (ABM). LAPM Link access procedure for modems (LAPM) is a simplified subset of HDLC for modems. It is designed to do asynchronous-synchronous conversion, error detection, and retransmission. It has been developed to apply HDLC features to modems.